Chester-based artist Chris Faircloth has an exhibition at Chester's Grosvenor Museum.

Silent City: Paintings by Chris Faircloth paints a contemporary urban environment, exploring the loss of local distinctiveness as Britain’s towns, cities and suburbs become increasingly homogenous, reminding us that the places we love could so easily lose their special character.

Chris said: “Increasingly, we all experience moments of déjà vu as we travel, our high streets containing the same chain stores and an architectural Esperanto of drive-thru fast food outlets, mini-marts, retail parks and filling stations in common across the land.

“Although my paintings are all based on actual locations, they are modified so as to be of nowhere in particular. Stripped of signage, logos and linguistic clues, the towns, cities and suburbs that we mostly now inhabit become increasingly homogenous.

“This common environment, which could be almost anywhere in Britain, is what I seek to represent. Although I’ve always been interested in depicting the contemporary urban environment, I do not see myself as a topographical artist.

“My paintings are based on photographic source material. This is a practical necessity since painting in the open air is not feasible in an urban environment. However, the photographs are only a starting point, since I make drawings from them, editing out unwanted details, and then transfer the drawings onto the canvas in a traditional way.”

Chris was born in Chester in 1956 and educated at Highfield Primary School, Chester City Grammar School for Boys and Queens Park High School.

He studied art at Liverpool Polytechnic and Kingston Polytechnic, and then worked in London for 17 years before returning to Chester in 1992.

The exhibition is now open and can be viewed until January 17.

Cabinet member for culture, health and wellbeing Louise Gittins said: “I am delighted that the Grosvenor Museum is exhibiting the work of this talented local artist.

“We rightly celebrate our local distinctiveness, but Chris Faircloth’s paintings are an important reminder that the places we love could so easily lose their special character and end up looking just like everywhere else.”